Detroit: Acura qualifying report

BRABHAM CONTINUES ACURA HOT STREAK WITH OVERALL POLE
FRIDAY IN ALMS QUALIFYING IN BELLE ISLE STREETS
Acura Announces 2009 ALMS Program With Two LMP1 Cars
DETROIT -- If there is voting for the American Le Mans
Series "Driver of the...

DETROIT -- If there is voting for the American Le Mans
Series "Driver of the Year" in 2008, David Brabham has to be
one of the leaders in the balloting.

Friday afternoon, on the tight streets of Belle Isle, Brabham
pulled off another magnificent qualifying performance at the wheel of his
No. 9 Patron Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b prototype in preparation for
Saturday's Detroit Sports Car Challenge, the ninth round of the
11-race ALMS campaign.

Brabham, a four-time 2008 race winner with driving partner
Scott Sharp, recorded Acura's fifth overall pole position in a
shootout with rival Acura driver Simon Pagenaud, the young Frenchman who
wheeled the No. 66 de Ferran Motorsports Panasonic ELS Acura ARX-01b
sports car to second on the starting grid.

Brabham, enjoying a stellar season with ALMS class wins at
legendary circuits like Long Beach, Road America, Mosport and Lime Rock,
clocked the 2.09-mile circuit north of downtown Detroit in one minute,
13.483 seconds for an average speed of 102.68 miles per hour. The
late-afternoon qualifying session Friday was the first time the ALMS
sports cars had seen a dry track. Rain showers hampered runs during the
morning and afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Acura Motorsports announced its 2009 ALMS
sports car program by stating that the Patron Highcroft Racing team and
de Ferran Motorsports will move from the LMP2 class to the premier
division in LMP1. In addition, Acura also will continue to field the
Lowe's Fernandez team in LMP2 in 2009 (see photo below).

Following Brabham's pole speed of 101.68 m.p.h. was
Pagenaud, who'll co-drive with former Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran
in Saturday's two-hour, 45-minute contest, with a speed of 102.44
m.p.h. Pagenaud qualified ahead of Guy Smith in the Dyson Porsche at
101.68, Adrian Fernandez in the No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX-01b at
101.45 and Franck Montagny in the No. 26 Andretti Green XM Acura ARX-01b
at 101.36.

DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b): "It is an
exciting day for the Patron Highcroft team today. First, the
announcement that Acura is going to the P1 class with our team. Now, in
qualifying, taking the overall pole for Acura here in Detroit is a big
deal. At first, I needed to tidy up a few corners and I didn't
feel good with my driving at the start. I was able to make a few more
corners and I caught my breath. The car was very good by then. I threw
in a fast lap and we were just ahead of Simon [Pagenaud]. I came in and
made a couple of quick adjustments. But I got caught speeding in the
pits. So I had to do a drive-through penalty. Finally, on my last lap,
I was able to improve my earlier time. We are in a fight for the LMP2
championship. So this pole was important today."

SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 Panasonic ELS Surround Acura ARX-01b): "It is a
fun track. It is one of the best street circuits I have ever seen. The
corners are really well designed. I don't know if they planned it
that way. But the track has a hairpin, slow corners and fast corners.
The car slides a lot and it is a good show for the fans. I only had five
laps total in the rain before qualifying today. But our Acura seemed
very quick from the start. This is like Lime Rock, where David [Brabham]
and I battled back and forth for the pole. There are not many passing
zones here for the race. But the traffic will create passing for
us."

FRANCK MONTAGNY (#26 XM Satellite Radio AGR Acura ARX-01b): "
Saturday will obviously be better for the XM Acura team. It's a
little bit difficult to go into qualifying without having any testing on
the track. This is the first time I've been here. I don't
know the track or the tricks you need here. I think we will be in much
better position for the race Saturday."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe's Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): "I
think it was a good qualifying effort. We didn't practice in the
dry, and I think we were one of the fastest cars in the rain. Our first
practice in the dry was qualifying. I thought we were going to have a
good car because the car was quite good in the rain. But we had a little
too much push and you don't really have time to change things on
the car in qualifying. We're fourth and, in the end, I think it is
a good starting point for tomorrow. The race will be about keeping the
car consistent with the tires and everything. I think we will surprise
people Saturday."